Statue of Ramesses VIII Presenting Amun-Re

The statue of King Ramesses VIII presenting Amun-Re is an example of hasty workmanship. It lacks vigor. One of the few statues that survive from the Ramesside Period, it demonstrates that the great era of creativity had ended.

The face of the statue is heavy with a troubled expression devoid of interior strength. The wig, a vestige of 19th Dynasty style, is composed of parallel stripes that form a kind of visor over the brow, which is adorned with the uraeus, or royal cobra. The wig falls in unusually long locks onto the collar bones, which are not marked. The widely pleated kilt is decorated with a heavy front panel.

The god Amun holds the Was scepter, symbol of prosperity and well being, in his left hand and the Ankh, sign of life, in his right. The god’s high headdress is only just recognizable and the pleats of his kilt have not been marked.

He is the sole king of the 20th Dynasty whose tomb has not been definitely identified in the Valley of the Kings, though some scholars have suggested that the tomb of Prince Mentuherkhepshef, KV19, the son of Ramesses IX, was originally started for Ramesses VIII but proved unsuitable when he became a king in his own right.

New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty, reign of Ramesses VIII, ca. 1130-1129 BC. Made of basalt. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 37595